A three-pack of Dolphins notes to get you through your Thursday afternoon:

1. Cameron Wake continues to skip Dolphins voluntary workouts.

Today is Day 3 of the Dolphins’ offseason program, and Wake continues to sit out in silent protest of his contract situation, a source confirmed. We’re not going to provide a daily update, because this thing could drag on for awhile, but it’s good to know for record-keeping purposes that Wake continues to sit out.

Wake has developed into one of the league’s best pass rushers, leading the Dolphins with 14 and 8.5 sacks the past two seasons. He also is set to make just $615,000 in base salary next year, less than 30 other players on his own team.

The Dolphins would like to keep Wake around for the future, but have bigger worries right now – the NFL Draft is only two weeks away, and getting a contract extension for Jake Long, to keep him around for the long term and to lower his $12.8 million cap number for 2012, is a higher priority.

Wake’s little “holdout” now is mostly harmless, because the workouts are completely voluntary and the Dolphins cannot penalize him for skipping. In fact, Wake can skip 95 percent of the offseason program, and the Dolphins can’t do anything about it. The only event he has to attend is a mandatory three-day minicamp, and the team can fine him $10,000 per each day he skips.

But it’s a clear sign that Wake is unhappy with the team right now. He had 100 percent attendance at all voluntary workouts during his first three seasons, and has always been a good team guy.

Wake will also cost himself a $50,000 bonus if he doesn’t show up to the voluntary workouts. But it may be worth it for Wake to cost him a little bit of money now to make his bigger point and get that contract extension from the Dolphins.

2. Dolphins checking out small school prospects.

The blue-chip guys get most of the media attention before the draft, but the Dolphins are also checking out plenty of small school guys to take in the late rounds or sign as undrafted free agents.

One small school guy who had a workout with the Dolphins is Matt Blanchard, a quarterback from Wisconsin-Whitewater, a Division III school. Blanchard stands 6-3, 225 pounds and went 25-0 in two years as the Warhawks’ starting quarterback, with 44 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Of course, he played against D-III competition, but Blanchard has the measurables to at least earn a training camp invite somewhere.

Another small school guy that the Dolphins checked out, among many at their Local Prospect Day on April 5, was Bethune-Cookman linebackerRyan Lewis. Jeff Ireland spent a little time personally checking out Lewis, but not as a linebacker. The Dolphins potentially want Lewis, who stands 6-1 and 245 pounds, to switch to fullback.

The Dolphins are clearly still looking for fullbacks despite signing Jerome Messam from the CFL. In addition to Lewis, the Dolphins have tried out at least two other fullbacks, both on Wednesday – former Titans fullback Ahmard Hall (a former Marine), and street free agent Jeff Link, a former fullback at Robert Morris (2011 draft class) who stands at 6-1, 252 pounds and is known for his blocking ability.

Among other small school players, don’t be shocked to see the Dolphins draft Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson in the second or third round. The Dolphins need another defensive back, he has a high draft grade and in recent years they’ve tapped the Montana well several times – Lex Hilliard, Jimmy Wilson and Dan Carpenter.

3. More analysis that Matt Ryan, not Jake Long, should’ve been the pick in 2008.

This kind of feels like beating a dead horse at this point, but NFL Films executive producer Greg Cosellhas a great column out today about the most valuable positions in today’s NFL.

Cosell writes that quarterback, pass rusher and cornerback are the three most important positions, and that a good quarterback can mask the inefficiencies of his offensive line. The Dolphins, of course, took Long over Ryan, and while Long has been named to four straight Pro Bowls, the Dolphins are just 31-33 in his four seasons with only one playoff berth. Ryan, meanwhile, has led the Falcons to the playoffs in three of his four seasons.

As Cosell writes:

Think about this: the past four Super Bowl-winning left tackles were David Diehl (a former fifth-round pick at guard), Chad Clifton (second round), Jermon Bushrod (fourth round) and Max Starks (third round). The quarterbacks on those championship teams were Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, each likely on anyone’s short list of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

We can debate how well those tackles played in those given seasons, but there’s a larger context. Is there a correlation between the quarterback position and the left tackle position? Can the argument be made that left tackle decreases in relative importance the better the quarterback, and is therefore less of a priority? Last season, Marshall Newhouse, a fifth-round pick in 2010, started 10 games at left tackle for the Packers. He struggled individually much of the season. It had little impact on Rodgers’ efficiency, or the overall performance of Green Bay’s offense.

The elite quarterbacks camouflage and compensate for offensive line deficiencies in many ways. They do it before the snap of the ball with their understanding of defensive pressure schemes and the pass protection adjustments that must then result. They do it after the snap with their decision making, their advanced sense of timing and anticipation, and their ability to move in the pocket to minimize and negate the pass rush.

As good as Long has been, the Dolphins likely want a do-over with that pick.